Let me introduce myself Hello! Sassica here from Calgary Alberta Canada! I'm 30 and it has been a dream of ours (my new hubby and I) to go to burning man! And we were lucky enough to get tix!!We are hoping to drive up and possibly rent an RV closer to the Burn. We will def be bringing bikes! What is the playa like? Is it very drying to the skin? What will help with that? whats the average temp there? I also heard rumor you cannot buy $$ anything with money... is that true? Should I bring things to trade with? I make necklaces and bracelets. My hubby is a house music producer and could have hundreds of burned music to give out? Thoughts?

So I have a question for you long time burners: Whats your favourite Burning Man Tip?

Anyways super stoked to meet new people and be apart of the burning man family!

Thanks for any help

Last edited by sassica on Wed Feb 08, 2012 10:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hello, welcome to ePlaya, and congratulations! First and foremost, take a look at the first timer's guides and the survival guide from last year (they'll post one updated for 2012 sometime in early summer), they should be able to answer a lot of the basic questions. You may want to start looking into RV rentals/arrangements now, since they do book up fast, and then take a look around the 'Preparation' section of the board for info about preparing, and then the 2012 event section for stuff specific to this year's event (camps, art & performance, theme, etc).

What is the playa like? Its very beautiful. It can be very hot in the day, very cold at night sometimes, & yes, it is intensely drying. Bring lotions, & lip balms; maybe some travel sizes to carry (and give away). Lemon juice or vinegar spritzed on the skin can also help counteract the alkali dust between showers. Your cuticles will be a bit shredded after a day or two, Liquid Bandage helps seal cuticles and cuts.

People do tend to like handcrafted jewelry, especially with the 'Man symbol & the year on it. (That said, one of my favorite jewelry gifts in 2010 did not have a Burning Man theme--was a white & pink heart-beaded bracelet with letters spelling out something naughty.) Do not feel that you have to gift everyone. Do it when you connect with someone, & don't do it as a trade.

The more reading you do before asking, the kinder ePlaya tends be in answering questions. So read the Survival Guide and First Timer's Guide I've linked below--it will help a lot.

*** 2013 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

trilobyte wrote:Hello, welcome to ePlaya, and congratulations! First and foremost, take a look at the first timer's guides and the survival guide from last year (they'll post one updated for 2012 sometime in early summer), they should be able to answer a lot of the basic questions. You may want to start looking into RV rentals/arrangements now, since they do book up fast, and then take a look around the 'Preparation' section of the board for info about preparing, and then the 2012 event section for stuff specific to this year's event (camps, art & performance, theme, etc).

Thanks for the tip!! I'll be sure to be booking an RV by this weekend!

What is the playa like? Its very beautiful. It can be very hot in the day, very cold at night sometimes, & yes, it is intensely drying. Bring lotions, & lip balms; maybe some travel sizes to carry (and give away). Lemon juice or vinegar spritzed on the skin can also help counteract the alkali dust between showers. Your cuticles will be a bit shredded after a day or two, Liquid Bandage helps seal cuticles and cuts.

People do tend to like handcrafted jewelry, especially with the 'Man symbol & the year on it. (That said, one of my favorite jewelry gifts in 2010 did not have a Burning Man theme--was a white & pink heart-beaded bracelet with letters spelling out something naughty.) Do not feel that you have to gift everyone. Do it when you connect with someone, & don't do it as a trade.

The more reading you do before asking, the kinder ePlaya tends be in answering questions. So read the Survival Guide and First Timer's Guide I've linked below--it will help a lot.

Hi Savannah,

Thanks for your description on the the playa! Will be sure to bring lots of lotion and liquid bandage.Great tip on putting the man and year in the jewelry, I never thought of that!

I'll be sure to do my fair share of reading over the next month to get ready, thanks again for the warm welcome

Thirdly, yes do read read read. The tip about googling with Eplaya in the search is a very good one. There is so much info on these boards and the internal search is a bit wonky.

Fourthly, Congrats on the tickets!

And Fifthly, to answer just one question, sort of. The playa is hard to describe. It's not sand really, not gravel either. A fine dust really. Take a fire extinguisher and fire it off in a shed or something. The extinguisher dust is just barely finer than playa dust. Then it gets filled with the most amazing mind blowing people. Magic.

When the only tool you got is a hammer, every problem looks like a hippie.

Mmmmmm I love the smell of Burning Man - Token

Getting overly dramatic about the ticket sale process is so 2012. - Maladroit

(1) You ... yes, YOU ... are the entertainment! i.e. the participants are what comprises the miracle of the playa. So come prepared with the most wild costumes you can think of. Come prepared to enhance the experience of everyone you meet.

(2) Get really, REALLY in tune with the concept of "gifting". NO, you cannot buy anything apart from ice and coffee at Centre Camp. And NO you should not barter ... you need to gift without any expectation of getting anything in return.

(3) Which brings us nicely onto "radical self-reliance". Bring in and take out everything that you will nee for the week.

(4) You need to read a LOT more than you have done so far. A LOT more!

All the answers in fine nitty gritty detail are here on eplaya! Just read through and skim around and you'll find everything you need to know, plus a lot of other useless shit.

As for the Playa texture it self tamarakay nailed it. But to elaborate, that fine powdery stuff gets compacted over the winter and early summer rains. Thefirst part of the week it feels like hard packed dirt, but after people have walked and biked on it, it gets turned up and gets softer.

Why don't ya stick your head in that hole and find out? ~pieholePlan for the worst, expect the best. Make the most out of it under any conditions. If you cannot do that you will never enjoy yourself. ~CrispyDave